Confessions of a Virtual Receptionist: On Being Ruby

On a blustery day last January I was commuting by bus for my third day of work as a virtual receptionist at Ruby® Receptionists. About half way through my trip I noticed another young lady board, whom I thought I recognized from the office. I was unsure of her name so I called out, “Hey Ruby!” and she turned around just as if I had called her by her own name!

How did I know she would respond? Well, we have a unique feature at our virtual receptionist service, where clients may have us address ourselves as “Ruby” when answering their calls so that they appear to have one ever-cheerful receptionist. For example, “Thank you for calling the Law Office of John Smith. This is Ruby. How may I help you?”

Originally, our founder and CEO Jill Nelson had called her company Worksource Inc. However, she quickly realized that the real core of our service is our cheerful demeanor and personable attitude on calls. In 2005, Jill and our branding company Sockeye chose the new name, Ruby Receptionists, to convey the attitude that we are really more of an off-site employee. “Ruby” has evolved into a real person just like me. We’re not “an answering service”; we are all your receptionist – even though we answer from Portland and get to talk to clients on the phone rather than by the watercooler.

Sometimes clients refer to me as Ruby when we’re on a call and then apologize, knowing that I have my own name. But I actually take it as a compliment! To me, the Ruby branding is much more than just a marketing tool. She is our mascot! As you can see from our Fashion Friday posts on the Ruby Facebook page, each virtual receptionist is a unique individual. And it is thanks to Ruby that we can all unite to become one super receptionist! Her brightly shining smile inspires a special vitality in me when I’m taking calls as I imagine how Ruby would handle the situation. And I know my fellow Rubys feel the same!